Tutorial: How to make marbled nails

Our intern Amy showed us how to create this cool marble design on our nails today. We had Amy help Judy with her nails but you can easily do this by yourself. You’ll need a little practice… but that’s what nail polish remover is for.

You’re going to need a few things on hand first: a bowl, bottled water, toothpicks, two or three colored polishes, and tape. It’s important to use bottled water because it won’t have impurities in it like tap water.

In addition, check to see that your polishes “spread” when you shake a droplet into the water. It should become film-like, and if you drag your toothpick through it, you should be able to pick it up in one piece — like skimming milk.*

Step 1. Arrange all your items in front of you. Jiggle each nail wand so they’re very drippy. You’ll want to move quickly!

Step 2. Put tape around your nails (don’t skimp on this). If you want the colors to be more saturated, paint your nails white first.

Step 3. Quickly drip one polish after the other into the bowl. As they all spread out, you’ll make a groovy concentric circle pattern. We used:

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure – 670 Midnight in NY

Pop Beauty – Yellow

China Glaze – Flip Flop Fantasy

Step 4. Use a toothpick to make a design — this is the fun part. The smaller the better.

Step 5. Submerge your nail into the film, keeping your finger very, very still. Use your free hand to catch the excess polish around your nail with a toothpick. The film should stick to it like cotton candy.

Step 6. Pull your nail out carefully, keeping it as flat as possible.

Step 7. Admire.

Once you pull the tape off and add a top coat, you’ll be Pinterest/Instagram/real world-ready. Be sure to send us pics at hi@beautybagg.com or post them online with hashtag #beautybagg. Happy marbling!